


Chocolate, Spice, and Everything Nice

by jacksparrow589



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Basically just them being adorable, Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Shirbert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:00:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28218105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacksparrow589/pseuds/jacksparrow589
Summary: "You're wrong.""You'rewrong!"Anne shook her head vehemently. "Hot chocolateliterallyoriginated as a spiced, unsweetened drink, and it remained that way for centuries!"Gilbert sighed. "I'm not disputing hot chocolate's origin; I'm disputing your assertion that it tastes better when spiced."--------Our favorite nerds have an argument about whether hot chocolate tastes good spiced because of course they would, Anne makes some to prove a point because of course she would, and Gilbert can't keep eyes or hands off Anne because of course he can't.
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 10
Kudos: 81





	Chocolate, Spice, and Everything Nice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rozmund](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rozmund/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Don't Make Me Come Over There](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24163402) by [Rozmund](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rozmund/pseuds/Rozmund). 



> This was originally inspired by the petty hill-to-die-on competition in chapter 8 of Rozmund's [Don't Make Me Come Over There](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24163402/chapters/58189009), and she very graciously let me say that this takes place in the same universe, probably the winter after the end. You don't need to have read that for this to make sense, but if you haven't (and even if you have!), I cannot encourage you enough to go and read it and tell Roz how much you love it. Thank you, Roz, and Merry Christmas! <3

"You're wrong."

" _You're_ wrong!"

Anne shook her head vehemently. "Hot chocolate _literally_ originated as a spiced, unsweetened drink, and it remained that way for centuries!"

Gilbert sighed. "I'm not disputing hot chocolate's origin; I'm disputing your assertion that it tastes better when spiced."

"Just try it. How do you know it's not better unless you try it?" wheedled Anne.

Gilbert picked his book back up. "I have tried it. I put cayenne in a mug of Swiss Miss when I was twelve because I was curious. It was disgusting."

Anne made a derisive noise. "Well there's your problem: you were using hot cocoa. You need hot _chocolate._ And before you tell me they're the same, they are absolutely not. The powdered stuff with cocoa powder in it is hot cocoa. For hot chocolate, you need bar chocolate. Dark bar chocolate. You sweeten and spice to taste."

Gilbert made a face that told Anne he had some choice comments about sweet and spice and taste as they pertained to her, and as appealing as the idea of hearing them right then was, she was not going to be deterred. She pulled out a bar of dark chocolate from a cupboard and some milk from the refrigerator. She then crumbled the chocolate into a saucepan with some milk and turned the burner on low as she started to stir.

"The microwave'll get that done a lot quicker." Normally, Gilbert wouldn't prod, but Anne knew without looking at him that he was no longer paying attention to his book.

"This needs to heat evenly and not boil, and it needs to be stirred. And as you're on your way over here—" Anne said as she heard him stand "—you can grab the brown sugar and the vanilla."

Gilbert did as he was told and wrapped his arms around her from behind, pressing a kiss to the side of Anne's head and then resting his cheek against the spot. "So we're really doing this?"

"I am. You can join me or not."

"I'm not going to waste good hot chocolate. You'll need at least a few seconds to get them out and uncapped, and while I could probably pour a mug for myself in that time, neither of us really want to spill hot milk on us or the floor." Gilbert reached out to take the spoon from her, keeping the other arm around her waist. Anne turned around and put her hands on his shoulders and stood on her toes for a brief but undeniably firm kiss. She pulled the arm around her waist away and went to the small spice rack and grabbed a few small containers, along with the vanilla from the cabinet above. She thought for a moment, then went to grab another bottle, which she handed to Gilbert as she took the stirring back over.

"Rum?"

Anne nodded. "Mm-hm. We can add it after you try the spiced stuff."

"That's a lot to add to hot co—chocolate," Gilbert corrected himself.

Anne chuckled. "Check the ingredients list on packaged cocoa."

"Fair enough." Gilbert looked at the other spices. "Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg… okay, I can see all those in hot chocolate. We'll see if you bring me around on the cayenne."

"I will."

"Have I ever told you how much I love your confidence?" Gilbert was back to wrapping his arms around Anne's waist. "Think you can beat me in a game of Scrabble, too?"

Anne rolled her eyes. "You're incorrigible. And yes." She turned off the burner, then turned back for a quick kiss before adding the sugar, vanilla, a dash of salt, and all the spices except for the cayenne as the milk steamed gently. "Ah, marshmallows!"

Gilbert shook his head. "We've got some whipped cream from Thanksgiving. That canned stuff lasts forever."

Anne shrugged. "Better than nothing." She offered Gilbert a taste of the hot chocolate, and he nodded in approval. She poured it out into mugs and dashed some cayenne in hers. "And now?" When he took a sip and made a face that indicated that it was different, but good. She topped it with whipped cream. "And now?"

"You win. Just make mine like yours." Gilbert went to go get the Scrabble board while Anne prepped his mug and added a little bit of rum to each. They sat down and, after clinking mugs, began to play.

* * *

"As promised." Anne laid down her last tiles. "I win. Unless you can get another twenty-four points next turn, anyway."

"Nope. Only eighteen." Gilbert placed the X tile next to an E and under an A before picking up their mugs to rinse and put in the sink.

"Oof. I need to get better if you're getting that close," Anne teased. She stood and stretched.

Scrabble and spiked hot chocolate had not distracted Anne one little bit from how Gilbert had been looking at her (though his competitive instinct meant he had very genuinely tried in Scrabble), so she was not at all surprised when he came to stand in front of her and wrapped his arms around her waist. As Anne brought her arms back down, she looped them around his neck and smiled into the kiss he leaned down to give her. It was a long moment before they pulled apart.

"Well," Anne whispered, "As long as we've got the ball rolling on an afternoon of good things…"

Without another word, Gilbert swept her up and started for the bedroom.

**Author's Note:**

> So, if you've never had homemade hot chocolate before, I _highly_ recommend you try it. For the basic, no-frills recipe, you'll need to heat 3 cups/750 ml whole milk and 3.5 oz/100g dark-ish chocolate (we use 70% if we at all can) broken up into little pieces on low or medium low on your stove, and stirring _constantly_. Once that melts (it will look a little grainy and may have a bit of a grainy texture because this is bar chocolate and not a mix with emulsifiers, so if you have texture issues, you may want to let it go a little longer and let it get as melted as possible but do NOT let it boil!) and is gently steaming, turn the heat either off or to very low while you mix in sugar (we use less than a quarter cup, and you will need less if using brown sugar), a dash of salt, and a bit of vanilla all to taste. After that, you can add marshmallows, spices... whatever you want!
> 
> As it's the winter solstice today where I am, I wish you all a day of light, peace, and hope.


End file.
